LOCAL TRACKS: IndyCar tire test at Pocono on Wednesday open to public

Fââans are invited to Pocono Raceway on Wednesday to watch an Izod IndyCar Series tire test.

Marco Andretti, Dario Franchitti, Simon Pagenaud and Will Power will participate. The results will help determine the Firestone tires to be used during the Pocono IndyCar 400 weekend July 5-7.

This will be the first time an IndyCar has turned a lap at Pocono since the series last competed at the 2.5-mile triangular track in August 1989.

Gates will open at 9 a.m. and fans will be directed to grandstand seating areas near the start-finish line. Concession stands will not be open, so fans attending should consider bringing a cooler with food and drink.

Test and tune

Penn Can Speedway in Susquehanna will hold the first of two practice sessions for the 2013 season Sunday at 1 p.m. Gates open at noon.

The second practice session is scheduled for April 12 at 6:45 p.m. The season is set to get under way April 13 with the running of the inaugural Ironman 100.

Highlighting this event is a 100-lap feature for Street Stocks. Sportsman, Xcel 600 Modifieds, Factory Stocks and Four-Cylinder Stocks are also on the program.

Race of Champions

Five Mile Point Speedway in Kirkwood, N.Y., opens its 63rd season Sunday at 4 p.m. with a Race of Champions Dirt Sportsman Tour 40-lap feature that pays $1,500 to win.

This is the second race of the RoC Dirt Sportsman Tour season. Ken Hammond of Monroe, N.J., won the opener, the Cabin Fever 30, at New Egypt Speedway in New Egypt, N.J., on March 23.

Also on the card is a RoC Street Stock 25-lap feature, 600cc Modifieds, Lightning Cats and the Tommy Boy 20 for Factory Stocks.

Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for seniors (62 and over) and $5 for youths (ages 13-17). Children 12 and under are free. A Family Five Pack, featuring five tickets (2 adults, 3 youths/seniors), five hot dogs and five sodas, is $35.

A practice session will also be held at Five Mile Point on Saturday at 2 p.m. Admission is free with the donation of a canned good to benefit CHOW.

Paying tribute

Waymart-based Grimm Racing with driver Eddie MacDonald of Rowley, Mass., will be in action Saturday night in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina. The race was originally scheduled for March 23, but was rained out.

This season, the team has two special tributes on the No. 71 Chevrolet.

One is an "End of Watch" emblem honoring Eric Williams, the 34-year-old federal corrections officer from Nanticoke who was murdered Feb. 25 at the U.S. Penitentiary in Canaan, Wayne County.

"He was a NASCAR fan, so it's nice to have his name on the car," team owner Rob Grimm said. "It's a way for the community to come together and show support in a time of need. We appreciate the job that those guys do."

Second is the National Multiple Sclerosis Society logo on the rear quarter panels. Recently, Grimm and his wife Karla's daughter, Megan Spaulding, was diagnosed with the disease.

"We're just trying to stay positive, spread the word and raise awareness and funds," Grimm said.

He added that the team plans to participate in the MS Walk at Pocono Raceway, scheduled for May 5.

In the first race of the season March 16 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, MacDonald started 30th, but worked his way to a seventh-place finish.

"We were happy with it," Grimm said. "We qualified in the back, but the car ran well and we were able to drive our way up to the front. We came away without any damage, which at Bristol is big."

SCOTT WALSH covers motor sports for The Times-Tribune. Contact him at swalsh@timesshamrock.com or @swalshTT on Twitter.

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